Prescribing patterns, substance use disorder diagnoses, and access to treatment prior to substance-related toxicity deaths in Ontario

Stimulant, opioid, benzodiazepine, and alcohol-related deaths

Over the past decade, the rate of substance-related toxicity deaths have dramatically increased. In our previous report, we observed a total of 8,767 accidental substance-related toxicity deaths involving alcohol, stimulants, benzodiazepines, and/or opioids between 2018 and 2021 in Ontario, with annual substance-related toxicity deaths almost doubling from 1,586 in 2018 to 2,886 in 2021.

With the availability of enhanced data on all substance-related toxicity deaths, there is an urgent need to better understand interactions with the healthcare system for non-fatal substance-related toxicities. This joint report by the ODPRN and Public Health Ontario describes prior prescribing patterns, previous substance use diagnoses, non-fatal substance-related toxicities and access to treatment(s) prior to accidental substance-related toxicity deaths involving opioids, benzodiazepines, stimulants and/or alcohol in Ontario between January 2018 and June 2022.

Access the full report and associated resources:

Report
Infographic
Infographic (French)
CATIE Webinar
Media Release

Date Released: March 5, 2024

Please note that this report is NOT COMPLETE and is still in progress. Click below if you would like to continue.